New Delhi, Jan 13 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday said all cases related to alleged violence during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal will be heard together on January 19, after responses are received from the parties concerned.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi made the observation after a lawyer mentioned the issue before the court, referring to a counter affidavit which reportedly acknowledged at least six incidents of violence in the state.
The counsel requested that the matter be taken up the same day at 2 pm, along with a similar case relating to Bihar.
However, the CJI declined the request, stating that notice had already been issued in a connected petition mentioned earlier by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, and time had been granted to the Centre and other parties to file their replies by Friday.
“We have already issued notice in a related matter mentioned yesterday. Time has been given till Friday for the reply. It will be coming up on Monday,” the Chief Justice said.
The Bench further clarified that the petition mentioned on Tuesday could also be tagged with other pending matters concerning West Bengal and heard together next week. “All matters of West Bengal will be taken up on Monday,” the CJI added.
On January 12, senior advocate Kapil Sibal had raised concerns over the manner in which the SIR was being conducted in West Bengal, alleging that “very weird procedures” were being followed. He pointed out that communications were allegedly being sent through WhatsApp during the revision process and claimed that there were “illogical discrepancies” in the exercise.
Earlier, in December last year, the Election Commission of India (ECI) had told the Supreme Court that allegations of large-scale deletion of voters in West Bengal during the SIR were “highly exaggerated” and driven by “vested political interests.”
In a counter-affidavit filed in response to a PIL by Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen, the ECI defended its June 24 and October 27 SIR orders, stating that they were constitutionally valid and necessary to maintain the accuracy of electoral rolls.
The Commission relied on Article 324 of the Constitution and provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, to justify its authority to conduct such revisions.
The ECI also stated that Special Intensive Revisions have been part of India’s electoral process since the 1950s, and cited several past nationwide revisions to support its stand.
It denied claims that the SIR would disenfranchise genuine voters and asserted that no voter could be deleted without following due process.
According to the ECI, 99.77 per cent of existing electors in West Bengal have already been given pre-filled enumeration forms, and over 70 per cent of completed forms have been received.
The Commission said these figures show that claims of mass disenfranchisement are unfounded.
The affidavit also highlighted safeguards for elderly persons, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups, and stated that Booth Level Officers are required to make repeated visits and cannot collect documents from voters.
Apart from TMC MPs Dola Sen and Mala Roy, the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee has also approached the Supreme Court seeking relief against the ongoing SIR exercise.
During an earlier hearing, counsel for the WBPCC said several citizens had complained about the conduct of the revision process, prompting the party to seek judicial intervention.
